Maintenance – Page 10

You don't need to spend a ton of money to get the tools you need to work on a quad. Most people already have most of the tools in their garage. There are however, a few specialty tools I would get to make routine maintenance on an ATV easier. The seven things I recommend that every ATV owner have to maintain their quad: These T-Handle Wrenches - They come in very handy, and make your job easier This Torque Wrench - A must have to prevent damaging your quad This ATV Center Stand - Get to hard to reach areas easier, and bring the ATV up to work on it This Heavy Duty Tire Inflator - Inflate tires with ease This Air Pressure Gauge - Precise air pressure measurements A Tire Plug Kit - Fix a hole in a tire, saves you money A Spark Plug Wrench - Make easy work of removing stubborn spark plugs T-Handle Wrenches You may not need a whole set of these for your ATV, but you should at least get the sizes you need. They are easy to use, and hard to lose. Most good mechanics have a set of T-Handles nearby for work. You could use a standard socket set for most jobs you use T-Handles for, but sockets get lost, and T-Handles are faster most of the time. They aren't going to brake the bank either. I use this set of Pit Posse Metric T-Handles from Amazon on my quad. There are a lot of parts that are hard to reach using a regular wrench. The T-Handle fixes that problem, and is my go-to tool for hard to reach bolts. Torque Wrench Your ATV was, without a doubt, built to specific tolerances. If you tighten a bolt too much or too little you could cause expensive damage to your machine. To make sure everything is tightened to factory specifications, you need to get a torque wrench. I recommend the ACDelco 3/8" Digital Torque Wrench found here on Amazon. This wrench reads down to 2 ft/lbs and up to 37 ft/lbs which will cover every bolt on an ATV. It's perfect for four wheelers. Having your own torque wrench can save you money too. I used to just tighten by hand until things felt snug. That worked for me for a while, until I snapped a bolt. I spent too much money trying to get the bolt out myself. I ended up bringing the machine into a shop, which cost me even more money. I then wished I had just used a torque wrench, it would have been cheaper in the long run. Since getting my own torque wrench, I never have to worry if things are tight enough, or if I'm going to over tighten and snap a bolt. Money well spent. ATV Stand Getting a stand will just make your life easier. It brings the quad up to comfortable working height so you can perform maintenance and keep your ATV steady. I recommend the Zeny 1100lb Wide Center Stand from Amazon. It is an 1100 pound scissor lift jack made for motorcycles, dirtbikes, and ATVs. It is made from solid steel and has a nice rubber material on the surface to prevent slipping. Tire Inflator Most ATV tires should be inflated around 5-8 psi. This can be done with a simple bike pump if you want. That's how I used to do it. It does get old pretty quick though, and it's nice to have an electric pump do all the work and display what pressure you're at. I recommend the Slime Heavy Duty Tire Inflator found here on Amazon. This is what I use, and it also works on my truck tires too. We bring it with us and leave it in the truck whenever we go out riding. It comes in a handy carrying case and will hook up directly to the battery. Air Pressure Gauge ATV tires get filled to a lower psi than your car or truck does. I found it hard to get accurate readings using the same tire pressure gauge as I did on my truck. I decided to get a low pressure tire gauge that will read more accurately. I recommend this Jaco Elite Tire Pressure Gauge from Amazon. It will read down to the tenth of a pound, plenty of accuracy for ATV tires. If you don't set your tires to the correct pressure it could affect your handling or even cause a flat tire. This little gauge is a quick and easy way to make sure your tires are ready to go before a ride. Tire Plug Kit For this item there is no need to buy an expensive fancy kit. You do need a tire plugger though. Nothings worse than a day of riding being cut short because of a flat tire. Sooner or later your bound to hit something that puts a hole in your tire, especially on the terrain ATV's typically ride on. I recommend this MadDog Tire Repair And Inflation Kit found here on Amazon. With this kit you can plug a tire and fill it up with a CO2 cartridge enough to get back to camp. I keep the kit on my ATV, and a tire inflator in the truck. This way if something does happen, I can plug the tire, fill it back up, and it doesn't ruin my day. Spark Plug Wrench The spark plug on your ATV is not the same spark plug on your car or truck. And, you will most likely be changing the spark plugs in your ATV's a whole lot more often. Most new ATV's come with a factory tool kit, which includes a spark plug wrench. But I keep that one with the quad for emergencies, and it's nice to have a ratcheting one in the garage for maintenance work. I recommend the Motion Pro Ratchet Spark Plug Wrench from Amazon. It makes quick work of changing out a spark plug.